Christmas Newsletter 2014

rundbrief-2014-12-titelblatt

Dear Amuka friends!

We thank you all very much for your support: Financially, morally and in prayer and we are very happy that we together with our team were able to contribute something in Uganda that many people got quite practical help and were newly filled with hope for a better future.

We have translated the letter of our friends in Manafwa for you, so that you can participate what has been done in 2014.

Spontaneously Dr. Aufmuth, a retired pharmacist, made his way to Uganda to hold a one-week seminar on our site, which was well attended. He has paid all related expenses out of pocket. A big thank you for this !!!

A report on the seminar follows at the end of this newsletter.

We wish you all a blessed Christmas and a happy 2015!

Your Orge & Antje Balack


The Christmas Letter From Uganda:

Dear friends and supporters of Amuka in Germany!

With great pleasure we want to thank you for your support which allowed us to carry out many activities in Uganda.

We have worked in six areas:
The garden of medicinal plants, youth, seminars and the outreach were led by Michael.
Health, women and children were led by Iname.

We would like to to report you form the work in some of that areas.

Seminars and „Outreach“:

This work is about to teach the community in hygiene, the use of medicinal plants and the Word of God. In this area, all employees, children, the young people and Antje when she is in Uganda are involved.
This year we have visited over 70 deprived persons or families and worked with them. We were especially among widows, single mothers and the elderly.
Inspired by Amuka several racks for hygienic drying of tableware, waste and compost pits and latrines were completed in teamwork.

Garden:

Among other things, this year we have harvested artemisia, amaranth, aloe vera, garlic, beans and corn. We also made artemisia ointment.
These products are delivered in particular to patients who are HIV positive.

Health:

In this working area, we take care of health problems of our sponsored children, employees and others affected villagers.
These were, for example, Kevin with deep cuts, Oliva’s mother who is mentally ill and has sand fleas in hands and feet, Robert who has chronic cough, and the village chief James with infected wounds and diabetes.
Some children with eye problems were brought to the eye clinic in Tororo.
In addition, Amuka took care of Yusuf, a 14 year old orphans who is HIV-positive. At first he was in a terrible state. He had a lot of diarrhea, rash, terrible cough, he was sweating most of the time and was very weak.
He was getting Artemisia against malaria, guavas tea against diarrhea, garlic against cough and also amaranth pulp with moringa against malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies.
After that his condition was significantly improved.
Furthermore, we took patients with physical disabilities to hospitals. This year, a particularly high number of children with disabilities were brought.

Children:

All sponsored children have visited schools according to their needs.

Thank God for AMUKA Germany! They taught us about medicinal plants, sang and prayed together with us, and during their vacation they go with our youth to the “outreach project”.
Now in December and January the children are on holiday, and most of them have performed well.

Our challenges:

° Many more children would like to visit the group.
° More and more parents join us with their handicapped children.
° Unpredictable climate fluctuations.
° The rocky soil in the garden project brings produces only low yields.
° We have too few volunteers.

Our future plans:

° We want to offer  more seminars and workshops on the site and in the villages in order to teach people.
° We want to place more emphasis on working with children, women and young people, since they are the ones who suffer the most
° We want to start with a group of men, because if they do not understand what is harmful, they can not help their women, children and the community as a whole.

Finally, we would like to say that the team of AMUKA Uganda so much appreciates your love and support for our miserable community!
We hope that you continue to pray for the people that they WAKE UP (AMUKA is Kiswahili and means “wake up”).
Above all, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Iname, Davis, Michael and Stephen

One-week AMUKA seminar with Dr. Klaus Peter Aufmuth (abridged version)

Rundbrief 12/2014 - Dr. Aufmuth in the garden

Dr. Aufmuth in the garden with Inames mother and other participants

With great pleasure we would like to thank AMUKA Germany that you sent Dr. Klaus Peter, who was so helpful to the surrounding villages …

Rundbrief 12/2014 - Full meeting house

At the end of the week there was hardly any space in the meeting house

The number of participants constantly grew over a week as more and more people were informed and invited. Many people were eager to learn somthing new and the place was becoming very scarce. Many came with health problems, the doctor examined them and gave them advice. Many had problems with their heart, their kidney or they had various other diseases such as rheumatism.

 

Dr. Klaus Peter encouraged women, children and young people to learn more about medicinal plants, so that they become able to help their families or other people in need who they encounter… He advised them to cultivate useful plants on the their own land and to use them with care. Additionally, he exhorted them to be careful with chemical products as they may be dangerous for our life.

In addition, he gave us a nasal douche, a muscle stimulator, a meat grinder and other equipment… If the seminar took longer than a week, the garden would have been flooded with people!
So we are very grateful for the wonderful time in our community.

Another very recent addition by Antje:

In July I got to know Slivia and her four children. Her youngest daughter Alice is physically handicapped and already has been brought to the clinic by Iname. The father does not support the family and wastes their little money with drinking alcohol. When I visited Slivia, I saw that the family lives in a tiny hut (only around 8 square meters in size) with crumbling walls and a grassy rooftop full of holes. Meanwhile Slivia built a new mud house with the aid of neighbors and AMUKA could give her about 200 € for the corrugated iron roof, the door and a window.

Newsletter 12/2014 - Sylvia in July

Slivia in July in front of the old house

 

Newsletter 12/2014-12 - Sylvia with Alice

Slivia with Alice and Iname

 

 

Newsletter 12/2014-12 - house with a corrugated roof

Unfortunately, the photo of 12/13. only in poor quality, but just shows the new house with a corrugated roof